You can sniff an onion or peel the layers without shedding a tear, but once you crush, chop, or cut an onion there's a good chance those tear ducts will start working. The thing that is causing you to tear up is actually a defense mechanism of the … [Read more...]

A plant grows away from the ground up into the air, right? Of course it does, but how does a plant know to do this while it is a seed in the ground? It's not like a seed has the sun to use as a guide. Why doesn't a seed grow farther down in the … [Read more...]

Daytime dramas are known as soap operas, but where did the moniker come from and when did it happen?
The origin of the soap opera can be traced back to short, daytime serial dramas that took place on the radio in the 1930s. Radio executives wanted … [Read more...]

If you've ever attended a high school or college graduation ceremony, you've probably heard the familiar music that accompanies the students as they enter. It is the march, "Pomp and Circumstance", and it was written by English composer Sir Edward … [Read more...]

A pimento is probably the most recognizable item that is stuffed in a green olive, but it’s not really known why or when this practice started in the first place. It’s believed that the first olives stuffed with pimentos happened sometime in the … [Read more...]

The number 911 is used for emergencies in North America, but why is that particular number used, and how did it all start?
The original 911 system began in the late 1960s, but the earliest system in the United States for someone to make a request … [Read more...]

There’s a little more behind the smell of freshly cut grass other than it being a pleasant aroma to most people. The smell is actually the plant giving out its own distress signal that something has gone terribly wrong. But who is the grass signaling … [Read more...]

There are more than 2,500 stars that line the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California. The stars represent the contributions of people in the entertainment industry in five different areas; motion pictures, broadcast television, radio, music, … [Read more...]